OmaO (Earth) is one of the songs in the album Ma Yema which was created the moment we recorded it.
When I was visiting Big Island, Hawaii, a little musical phrase landed in me and I brought it with me to the recording of “Spiral, an inner journey” with the percussion player Xavier Desandre Navarre and keyboard player Thomas Hellsten, sound engineer and co-producer Lasse Nilsson at Nilento Studio. (Besides Spiral we also recorded a couple of other songs and one of them was OmaO (Earth). Those “besiders” plus 3 songs from Spiral finally ended up in the album MA YEMA.) And how we tried, tried and tried again, to get into this little phrase, get out of it, develop it, expand it, flow with it, trying different approaches,.. make it work and flow somewhat close to how I heard it inside of me. As we were trying to find the way for this phrase, that inner hearing got more and blurry and finally I lost it completely.. And what ever way we played it, well it was not working. The melody fell to the ground, laying there like a zombie. When the percussion player Edo Bumba came to the studio for a session together with us, we did a last attempt. But no, no, NO! The phrase wouldn’t approve. That’s the way my songs and melodies usually behave when they don’t like the musical clothing I am trying to squeeze them into or surround them with. And this no was a MEGA-NO!!! Yack! Horrible! Never In My Life That I Will Agree To This!! FORGET IT!!
Lasse said, “Malou just drop that idea, it won’t work. Let’s create something else, something new”.
Said and done. And in the moment I gave it up, instantly the flow was there, powerful and mighty. It just washed all over us, pumping up the gas.. It was like riding on gun powder. All we had to do, was to follow the flow, saying Yes! to the music that appeared, welcome. come in! And somehow, that little musical phrase sneaked into the song – smart little phrase – 😉 but now it had changed from minor to major! Omao (Earth) is not altered in any way, nor repaired or shortened. From the first little tone, until the last one, it is intact, this is exactly how it arrived. What we have done afterwards, is adding choirs, strings, some more percussion and keyboards. Glorify it, expanding the sound. That’s all.
I have dedicated Omao (Earth) to Hawaii, as Hawaii has a big place in my heart. It is my Heartland.
this VIDEO-snippet, one in a series of 6, was created by Jack McGuinness
Read more about MA YEMA – here
And The Pleiadian Suite – here
MA YEMA is the concluding album, focusing on the elements, in Malou Bergs The Pleiadian Suite; HOYA (Earth, Body) OMINE (Heaven/Air, Soul), AMAONA (Water, Feelings), ALIGNMENT (Ether, Intuition) and MA YEMA (Fire, Energy). Besides that there is BREATHE OUT (Christmas album, a compilation. Yay!!)
All songs on MA YEMA, except ”Sola Me”, were created by Xavier Desandre Navarre, Thomas Hellsten and Malou Berg in the moment, as they were recorded.
“We started from nothing.
We had no structure,
no form,
no chord changes,
no melody,
no lyrics
no initial idea.
We had nothing at all, to hold on to.
Together we stepped into the unknown, unsure
following the flow,
embracing the notes that arrived
the waves of musical lines
the rhythms that came.. and went
the melodies, the lyrics.
We followed the flow.
And these songs were born.”
Credits:
Malou Berg, Lead vocal, vocals
Xavier Desandre Navarre, Bowls, percussion
Thomas Hellsten, Keyboards, grand piano
Lars Nilsson, Flugel Horn, Vocals
Sweden Music Session, Strings
Tormod Tvete Vik, Director
Hanna Wanngård, Vocals
Therese Andersson, Vocals
Jenny Nilsson, Vocals
Katarina Milton Almgren, Vocals
Karin Celander, Vocals
Johan Ivarsson, Vocals
Edo Bumba, guest percussion on A Meia To (Ocean) and OmaO (Earth)
Music: Malou Berg/Xavier Desandre Navarre/Thomas Hellsten
Lyrics: Malou Berg
* The song Sola Me, music & lyrics by Malou Berg
Vocal Arrangements: Malou Berg
String & Harp arrangements: Tormod Tvete Vik
Production: Malou Mountain Music AB
Publisher: Malou Mountain Music AB/Stiggy Music AB
MA YEMA album released Oct, 21 2016
by Nilento Records
Distributed by Naxos
Recorded in Sweden 2012 at Nilento studio, Gothenburg
Sound engineer: Lars Nilsson
Assisting sound engineer: Michael Dahlvid
Edited, mixed and Mastered 2015: Lars Nilsson at Nilento Studio
PRODUCED BY MALOU BERG AND LARS NILSSON
Photos: Elisabeth Landberger
Graphic Design: Katarina Di Leva
Video full lenght, to A MEIA TO (Ocean) by Petra Lindholm
Video full length, to WATER by Maria L Hallengren
VIDEO-snippet, a series of six short videoclips, one for each song, created by Jack McGuinness
C & P 2016 Malou Mountain Music AB
All Rights Reserved
MA YEMA – buy your CD here:
Naxos Direct
Malou Shop
For more information, send me an email: info@malou.se
Love & Joy
Malou